4 Steps for Goal Setting Success

Goal Setting Basics: Part of the Goal Setting Series

When people think about goal setting, they fall into one of two categories:

1. They think it will be really easy to accomplish their goals if they use their willpower and self control.

2. They get so overwhelmed thinking about all of the work and effort their goal entails that they never get started.

I created the goal setting series with both types of people in mind: we will go through the goal setting process, the steps you need to cover and strategies to stick to it and then maintain your accomplishments

There are three keys to goal setting:

1. Plan your goal.

This is the goal planning step that I always get stuck on: planning. I love to think about how I'm going to achieve my goal, the time I'm going to dedicate to working on it every day (or every week), and I like to schedule time each day or week to dedicate to my goal. I chart out my progress on excel spreadsheets and create reminders on my phone. I LOVE to plan (it's the execution part I get hung up on).

This is when you identify your goal, and prepare to reach it by deciding when and where to work towards it. Steps include how to set yourself up for success and how to properly motivate yourself to reach your goals.

What is Goal Setting

How to Set Goals in 5 Steps

2. Actively working on your goal.

This is where the rubber meets the road, as they say (I couldn't come up with a better analogy).

How to Achieve Goals

How to Use Routines to Achieve Your Goals

4 Ways to Find Motivation

It is important is this step to maintain your motivation and be open to tweaking your work if necessary. If you are finding that a strategy is not working--for example, if your goal was to lose weight and "eating less" was not specific enough--you've got to have some flexibility to change it.

3. Avoiding pitfall and deadline with stumbling blocks.

So you set your goals and are working towards them... but you are not moving along as quickly as you would like or your motivation is flagging. Or, maybe your entire plan needs re-tooling. Here are guides to ealing with the pitfalls and shortcomings:

Why You are Not Achieving Your Goals

4. Maintaining your accomplishments.

Now that you've accomplished this goal, you've got to find a way to maintain the results. That's where your routines come in--again! As frequent readers of this site know, I use routines extensively to keep my organized and focused. Incorporating your maintenance plan into your daily routine ensures that you will stick with the results.